16 Best Affiliate Marketing Programs for Beginners in 2022

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16 Best Affiliate Marketing Programs for Beginners To Make Money in 2022.
One of the biggest challenges you'll face when building an affiliate marketing business is finding the best affiliate programs for beginners.
After all, there are thousands of high paying affiliate programs to choose from.
Choosing the wrong affiliate program could potentially set you back months, whereas the right one could see you generating your first affiliate buckaroos before your site is even "finished".
So - because this is a question we get asked a lot - we're going to dedicate our time together in this blog post looking at the best affiliate programs for beginners.
And we'll try to give you a far more balanced view of why signing up for affiliate networks sometimes makes more sense than an in-house affiliate program, and vice versa.
Best Affiliate Marketing Programs For Beginners.
Amazon Associates Affiliate Program CJ (Commission Junction) Affiliate Program ShareASale Affiliate Program ClickBank Affiliate Program Rakuten Advertising Affiliate Program Impact Affiliate Program Awin Affiliate Program Etsy Affiliate Program eBay Partner Network Affiliate Program Fiverr Affiliate Program Refersion Marketplace PepperJam Network FlexOffers Affiliate Program Avangate Affiliate Program MaxBounty Affiliate Program LinkConnector Affiliate Program.
Affiliate Networks vs. Affiliate Programs.
The first mental hurdle you have to cross is the difference between in-house affiliate marketing programs (merchants) and affiliate networks.
Some beginners treat these terms as if they're interchangeable - they're not.
Let's say you build an authority site around outdoor sporting equipment, promoting products like trampolines, water slides, lawn sports, etc.
You'd then have the choice of either signing up to several (or dozens!) of affiliate marketing programs for different manufacturers and suppliers.
Or you could simply sign up to a network that can connect you with the majority of the product suppliers you want to work with.
The sensible route for somebody new to affiliate marketing is to simply sign up with affiliate networks and go from there.
But affiliate networks aren't some kind of panacea.
In fact, there are some affiliate programs that only exist outside of affiliate networks, so you'd have to sign up to them individually.
My favorite example of this was back when I started out as an affiliate marketer...focusing on replica lightsabres.
True story - I made a lot of money selling toy lightsabres.
The company behind them was called Master Replicas, and they ran a great affiliate program. So I had to sign up directly with them because they "owned" the prop and replica lightsabre market back then.
Years later they migrated to an affiliate network, but the payouts were lower, the terms were pretty bad and eventually, I just let the affiliate site die of a broken heart...and broken affiliate links.
So, we're going to look at both sides of the game.
Firstly, the best and most popular affiliate networks, and secondly a range of diverse and reasonably generic enough affiliate programs that they apply to most audiences.
What To Look For In A Good Affiliate Marketing Program.
Ease of Use.
When you're first starting out in affiliate marketing you should make things as easy as possible on yourself.
That includes signing up for affiliate programs that not only make sense but are equal parts great management and great design.
After all, the very last thing you want to have to deal with is an affiliate program with a clusterf**k of an interface.
This can make creating affiliate links, or uploading a banner, an absolute nightmare.
I've been that soldier - crying over my keyboard because the geniuses behind a given affiliate program created an interface so complex that the only person capable of "solving it" would have to be a hybrid of Stephen Hawking and Doctor Strange.
Affiliate networks tend to not have that problem - their goal is to make your life in affiliate marketing as easy as possible.
Because if you're not making money (i.e. passive income), then they're not making money either - nor are their clients.
With that being said, there are just as many in-house affiliate programs that are the affiliate marketing version of the Sistine Chapel.
But the point we want to reinforce here is that ease-of-use should be a deciding factor for whatever affiliate program you choose.
It won't be as much of an issue when you have a little more skin in the game.
Point of contact.
Things will go wrong from time to time.
Links will stop working, or you'll have a question on why last month's sales report looks like it's upside down.
That's exactly when you'll need help from a dedicated affiliate manager.
Affiliate networks tend to have a slight advantage here because you can rely on their support staff in addition to the affiliate manager for whatever program you have a question on.
Just bear in mind that affiliate managers are no different from face-to-face managers in that some of them are really good and some are awful.
Always check what kind of support you'll get before you sign up for any affiliate program i.e. do you have a dedicated affiliate manager.
"Jack the guy from IT takes care of that" isn't the type of answer you want...or should accept.
Commission & Payments.
Find out not only how much you'll get paid by a given affiliate program, but also when you'll actually get paid.
Most affiliate programs are Net 30, but some are Net 60 and even Net 90.
What the above means in plain English, is that most affiliates are paid 30 days after making a sale, but others don't get paid for 90 days.
That's a long time to wait for your affiliate income, especially if you have bills to pay.
16 Best Affiliate Marketing Programs For Beginners.
Now let's take a look at the best affiliate marketing programs for first-timers-- those that give you the best chance of making money online with your new business.
1. Amazon Associates.
Amazon Associates Program) is one of the oldest affiliate programs out there. And it's vast, encompassing all of the products they sell online. So if you can find something on Amazon, you can sell it and get a cut of the profit.
And that includes everything from books to bullhorns, and anything in between - there's something for every audience.
Amazon's affiliate marketing program is pretty much the first place we send brand new affiliates simply because it's so easy to use, especially when creating your first affiliate link(s).
Pssssst. Want to learn how to build an Amazon affiliate site free of charge? We give you step-by-step instructions. You can also check out our Amazon Affiliate Program Review.
Cost: Free.
Type: Affiliate network.
You get paid: Net 60.
Payment threshold: $10.
Best suited to: Affiliate marketing beginners building their first site.
Pros.
International brand recognition - everyone knows what Amazon is 385 million products for Amazon Associates to promote They place huge focus on customer service, so you benefit from that Link creation and management is super easy Easy-to-use affiliate dashboard.
Cons.
Amazon changes their mind on commission rates as often as they change their underwear The 24-hour cookie is far from ideal.
2. CJ Affiliate.
CJ Affiliate -- formerly known as Commission Junction -- is one of the oldest affiliate networks out there, one I've been using since about 2002.
What makes them different to Amazon is that CJ Affiliate specializes in big brand names, as well as smaller product and service suppliers.
So, at the time of writing this they represent mahoosive companies such as Zappos, Walgreens, Verizon, Under Armour, Trip Advisor, Staples, Sonos, Disney Shops, Sears, and Samsung.
And roughly 2,473 other affiliate marketing programs.
In addition to the super diverse range of brands and products, you also get all the tools successful affiliate marketers need -- from excellent support to simple affiliate link creation.
But what I really love about the CJ Affiliate network is their metrics - I can clearly see if an affiliate program is profitable or not.
That's a huge time saver.
There's no guesswork involved, so you can map out exactly what affiliate programs you're going to promote and roughly how much you can expect to make per sale.
Cost: Free.
Type: Affiliate network.
Payment threshold: $50.
You get paid: Net 30.
Best suited to: Affiliate marketers with 3 - 6 months experience under their belt.
Pros.
Intuitive interface and dashboard - ideal for affiliate marketing beginners Lots of really big brand names under one roof Direct display advertising (flat fee and commission) opportunities You can find profitable affiliate programs without having to guess Support and tutorials make things very easy.
Cons.
Big brands come and go on this network all the time There is a very mild learning curve when compared to Amazon.

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3. ShareASale.
Part of this is because the interface looks very 2002 - it hasn't changed since I first signed up for my account many, many moons ago.
And the lack of a "Wow" factor puts some new affiliate marketers off.
But my friends, my friends - ShareASale has some of the best affiliate programs out there. Some pay $300 - $350 per sale. And no, those affiliate programs have nothing to do with...umm "enlargement" products, or anything like that.
In fact, they represent around 5,000 different affiliate programs, but these are focused more on smaller but profitable companies, rather than just huge brand names.
The affiliate marketing dashboard is basic but functional, and sometimes the lack of complexity is actually a good thing.
ShareASale is one network you should seriously consider signing up for.
Type: Affiliate network.
Payment threshold: $50.
You get paid: Net 30.
Best suited to: An affiliate marketer looking for emerging brands or more tangential products and services.
Pros.
Thousands of products and services to promote Smaller, unknown but very worthwhile affiliate programs The "Search for Merchants' function is far superior to Commission Junction, for example Their 'PowerRank' metric shows you where an affiliate program sits in the top 1000 on ShareASale You don't have to wait months to get paid.
Cons.
A very dated interface The approval process for affiliate programs can be unpredictable at times.
4. ClickBank.
ClickBank is yet another affiliate network that falls into the "grandparent" category -- they've been online since 1998.
And it's a real rags-to-riches business story - one started by friends sitting around a garage, but that eventually transformed into a business with US$3 billion per year in sales.
While every other affiliate program was trying to figure out how to ship goods while still generating a profit, the guys at ClickBank turned that idea on its head by focusing instead on selling digital products.
That meant instant delivery, almost no overheads, and the ability for them to work directly with creators. And although they could never have imagined social media being a thing, their range of products can also work extremely well with those audiences.
You can find all of their products in the ClickBank Marketplace, but they do also feature some physical products these days.
The Marketplace interface is functional but looks like it hasn't changed since 1998. It's a minor gripe, but it's long overdue a facelift.
If you need a little more of a helping hand to get started as a ClickBank affiliate, check out our (well Gael wrote it, so it's a collective we ) article on how to make money with ClickBank.
Cost: Free.
Type: Affiliate network.
Best suited to: Marketers who prefer promoting digital products.
Payment threshold: $50.
You get paid: Net 60.
Pros.
You rarely need to be approved to promote a program Probably the best network for anyone doing affiliate marketing without a website Their top-tier programs average out at about $50 per sale You'll have lots of opportunities to promote programs with recurring commission Most of the pre-selling is done for you by the merchant's landing page Digital products can work hand-in-hand with email marketing/social media Creating your affiliate link is super easy.
Cons.
The Marketplace hasn't changed one bit in 19 years - it's functional but very dated Certain programs can result in very high refund rates.
5. Rakuten Advertising.
They put their foot in the door of the affiliate marketing scene when they acquired LinkShare back in 2005.
Since then they've taken the Rakuten Linkshare platform from being a presence in the market to winning awards most years.
So....is it suitable for beginner affiliates?
The short answer is "Yes", but let me elaborate:
The interface is pretty similar to most other affiliate networks They represent 1,000+ brands and businesses Their merchants supply everything from gifts and flowers through to consumer electronics and office supplies.
The only potential downside is that Rakuten is a serious player on the affiliate marketing scene, so the approval process can be slow, especially if your site has little or no traffic.
With that being said, Rakuten is a sleeping giant most newbie affiliates don't pay enough attention to.
Some affiliates have implied this network is slow to pay out, but I've never had an issue with them.
Cost: Free.
Type: Affiliate network.
Best suited to: Affiliates who want to broaden their horizons beyond Amazon and eBay.
Payment threshold: $50.
You get paid: Net 30.
Pros.
Lots of big brand affiliate programs live here Reasonably intuitive interface - it gets the job done Handles over US$100 million in sales transactions each year One of the oldest affiliate networks there is.
Cons.
An interface that's so dated it makes me look young The lack of metrics data gives me stomach ache.
6. Impact.
But age, after all, is just a number, so Impact's comparative youthfulness definitely shouldn't stop you signing up. Its founders created Commission Junction, so they clearly know what they're doing!
Much like the other big-name networks, you'll find tons of household names on Impact, including Adidas, Airbnb, and HSBC. At time of writing, a grand total of 2,517 brands were using the platform to reach new audiences, with new advertisers joining the network all the time.
Unsurprisingly for a (relative) newcomer to the world of affiliate marketing, Impact's user interface is a lot fancier than most affiliate networks.
But this isn't just about cosmetic appeal -- it also incorporates some smart, user-friendly features.
One of my favorites is the "brands to work with instantly" section, which lists all the advertisers offering instant approvals. It's a fantastic feature that makes it easy for new affiliate marketers to get up and running fast.
Cost: Free.
Type: Affiliate network.
Best suited to: Affiliate marketers looking for programs offering instant approvals.
Payment threshold: Varies by payment method.
You get paid: Monthly.
Pros.
Easy to find brands offering instant approvals Big choice of affiliate programs (more than 2,500 at time of writing) Smart interface is more intuitive than older networks Home to plenty of big-name brands like Adidas and Airbnb Wide choice of categories, from shoes and apparel to B2B services Multiple ways to cash out your earnings, including PayPal and direct transfer.
Cons.
The wealth of features can make it a little complex for new affiliate marketers This is a minor one, but it doesn't have quite as many big names as Commission Junction.
7. Awin.
Cost: Free.
Type: Affiliate network.
Best suited to: Affiliates who want to get paid promptly!
Payment threshold: From $20.
You get paid: Once or twice a month (you choose)
Accelerated payments mean you don't have to wait around for commissions Huge choice of affiliate marketing programs Easy-to-use platform with clear, consistent labels and layouts Tracking is easy to follow and understand through your Awin dashboards Slicker interface than most networks Lots of big-name brands to work with.
Cons.
With 260 affiliate marketers joining the network every day, you'll face a lot of competition While it operates globally, it's most heavily concentrated on UK and EU advertisers.
8. Etsy Affiliate Program.
That's because the products sold through the platform are made by independent crafters, vintage traders and artists, although there has been some "creep" with overseas manufacturers trying to stake a claim here.
So it's an affiliate network for sole traders, if that makes sense.
What Etsy have managed to do is become the leading platform in their niche - nobody else comes close. They've gone from zero to publicly traded company in a very few short years.
What I find interesting about Etsy is that a surprising number of people I know have either bought something on Etsy, or are selling their own handicrafts on the platform.
Side note: I made my first ever Etsy purchase while writing this - the screenshot above is a hint.
You can make money through Etsy's affiliate program by linking to products you find on the platform and/or reviewing them. Then when one of your visitors makes a purchase you'll receive 4% commission.
So is this one of the best affiliate marketing programs for newbies? Well, you probably won't retire on Etsy commission payments, but it does offer you a great chance to make worthwhile cash.
Cost: Free.
Type: Merchant (via Awin)
Best suited to: Affiliates with an interest in handmade items, personalized products or vintage goods.
Payment threshold: $50.
You get paid: Net 30.
Pros.
Clean, modern interface with easy navigation Constantly updated range of items in stock - there's always something new The best affiliate program in the craft/vintage/gift market You support independent product creators (micro-businesses) when you promote Etsy Their product range is diverse enough to keep people on the site for hours.
Cons.
Popular vendors eventually leave the platform - don't put all your eggs in one basket Etsy traders have been grumbling about recent algorithm changes on the platform.
9. eBay Partner Network.
eBay also manage their own affiliate program, so there are no "middlemen" involved - you work directly with them.
And that means being able to build a relationship with their team of affiliate managers, something which could be invaluable to you in years to come.
In short, this affiliate program -- officially called the eBay Partner Network (EPN) -- isn't perfect, but it can be a great place for brand new affiliates to start out, usually in conjunction with the Amazon Associates Program.
Cost: Free.
Type: Merchant.
Best suited to: Anyone - if you've ever been on eBay you'll understand why.
Payment threshold: $10.
You get paid: Net 30.
Pros.
The EPN actively welcomes raw beginners - there's a very low barrier to entry Globally recognized brand name Hundreds of millions of products for sale You can offer your visitors real value for money here - often better than Amazon Relatively high commission rates, ranging up to 70% per sale You can receive payments via PayPal.
Cons.
24-hour cookie - only a session-based cookie could make this worse Lots of reproduction/knock-off products on their platform.
10. Fiverr Affiliate Program.
Fiverr took that basic concept and ran with it, monetizing the gig industry for services covering the following umbrella categories: graphic design, marketing, writing, video and animation, music, programming, business, lifestyle and industries.
Although you can sign up for their program on CJ.com, we're going to focus on their in-house affiliate program instead for the sake of simplicity.
It's potentially one of the highest paying affiliate programs out there. The Fiverr affiliate program offers up to $150 per referral, depending on the category of the service provider you're promoting.
Unlike some other affiliate programs, you also have multiple ways of earning affiliate revenue with Fiverr, including their 'Learn from Fiverr' courses where you get paid 30% per sale.
Although this gig platform built its reputation on selling digital services like WordPress installations and backlink building, you can now also find "lifestyle" services like arts and crafts, tarot readings, or even relationship advice.
Oh, and their affiliate program takes about 30 seconds to sign up to - literally just enter your name, email address and choose a password.
Cost: Free.
Type: Merchant.
Best suited to: Any blog with a topic that is directly or tangentially related to a Fiverr gig category, although business-style services do tend to sell very well.
Payment threshold: $100.
You get paid: Net 30.
Pros.
Really nice affiliate interface - it's a breath of fresh air compared to others Fiverr are a market leader, so there's no real competition New services become available to sell all the time - you'll always have something to sell Potential for deliciously high $150-per-referral commissions - there is potential to earn a lot of money here.
Cons.
You don't get paid for any sales made to existing customers Like Etsy, some of the most popular gigs will eventually move to their own website.

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11. Refersion Marketplace.
Offer types: CPS.
Payment options: PayPal.
Payment terms: Dependant on advertiser.
Payment threshold: Dependant on advertiser.
You get a fast, minimalist interface and thousands of merchants across pretty much any niche you can think of And they even send out a weekly email to publishers listing their new advertisers.
Their advertiser filtering interface is shit - it needs a whole lot of work. Also, when applying to an affiliate program it triggers a new window and you have to fill in an application form.
PepperJam.
They were then relaunched under the PepperJam brand again in 2016.
They represent a mixture of huge brands, including Puma, Nordstrom, Orion, and Lindt, but also lots of more niche brands too.
Most suited to: PepperJam is a solid network for new and experienced affiliates alike.
Signup URL: PepperJam.
Offer types: CPS.
Payment options: Net 60.
Payment terms: PayPal - you have to contact support for other options.
Payment threshold : $25.
There are some things about this network that makes them stand out from the crowd, like the easy-to-use affiliate dashboard, tabbed link creation interface (love this) and you can even email advertisers to query them directly, even if you're not part of their program PepperJam just feels that bit more "cozy" than some of the bigger affiliate marketing platforms.
They have fewer than 1,000 advertisers on their books That's not a bad thing in and of itself, but you could run out of potential offers in your niche pretty quickly Oh, and the lack of public EPC data bugs the hell out of me.
FlexOffers.
Offer types: CPS, CPL, Flat rate, Per Install.
Payment options: Check, Bank transfer, wire transfer, PayPal.
Payment terms: Net 60.
Payment threshold: $25.
They have a simple and friendly onboarding process - they spotted a mistake in my application process and let me know They also allow applications from affiliates using Wix or Blogger, which is a real novelty these days Filtering through their thousands of advertisers is made relatively easy thanks to a streamlined interface, including being able to sort by 7 and 30-day EPC You can also earn additional revenue thanks to the Flex-Rev$hare program. This is where you get paid a cut of what your sub-affiliates make.
Their customer support options are highly visible, but also extremely limited - you get a knowledgebase and an email address. Also, their choice of color scheme is headache-inducing stuff.
Avangate Network.
Now before we go any further Avangate is basically two companies - Avangate is their affiliate software platform.
But their affiliate network is 2Checkout, which is massively confusing because they're also a payment processor.
Anyways, 2Checkout has 22,000 software advertisers signed up with them, but also a handful of online courses, like SuperReading.
In terms of software, you'll find everything from Hide My Ass, Bit Defender, Malware Bytes, SEO PowerSuite, and Filmora, to FTP software.
Offer types: CPS.
Payment options: Check, direct deposit, PayPal and Avangate Mastercard.
Payment terms: Net 30.
Payment threshold: $100.
2Checkout keeps things simple Like how they manage filtering advertisers - it's the most basic interface you can imagine, but you can find the program you want in seconds You also get deep linking tools, geo-targeted shopping carts, being able to use free software trials as a promotion, you can view EPC data, and you can even generate your own coupons Something else that works really well is applying to programs - all you have to do is click on 'Request partnership' and that's it.
Way too many of the software products they represent are super nichey, so I'm not sure about how large the market is for them.
MaxBounty.
Most suited to: Established affiliates with plenty of traffic and who need new CPA offers to push.
Signup URL: MaxBounty.
Offer types: CPA, CPL and CPI.
Payment options: Direct deposit, check, PayPal, Payoneer.
Payment terms: TBC.
Payment threshold: $50.
You can earn a cash bonus of $1,000 if you earn more than $1,000 in legit affiliate commissions within your first 90-days with them You get a bright, clean and modern dashboard - they're well ahead of the curve in terms of some of the downright ugly interfaces you'll find on other platforms.
Their application and approval process is an absolute joke I've never seen a more convoluted process in my life, and if things go wrong the support provided is sorely lacking.
LinkConnector.
Offer types: CPS, CPL, Per Click, and Pay per Call.
Payment options: Check or PayPal.
Payment terms: Net 30.
Payment threshold: $100.
The first thing I like about this network is that it's smaller than others There's only about 400 advertisers in total, but that means I can find what I'm looking for (or not) pretty quickly I also love being able to see 7 and 90-day EPCs on a single line for each and every advertiser Applying to a given campaign requires 3 clicks in total, so again brownie points scored here Their naked linking function - you can simply redirect traffic to the advertiser's domain and not have to use a custom affiliate link at all.
The limited number of advertisers might be a problem, but that's only a possibility and not an eventuality It's something of a double-edged sword LinkConnector also shares the usual dated interface that seems to be endemic with older networks I'm beginning to suspect they're all coded by the same team of time-traveling web developers.
Wrapping things up.
And there you have it - our in-depth blog post on the best affiliate marketing programs for beginners.
We covered as much ground here as possible, hopefully giving you enough affiliate program choices to work with.
The cool thing is that if you have some existing traffic there's potential for you to start earning passive income from your visitors literally tomorrow...with some payments arriving in the next 30 days.
How many businesses can you think of where you can turn a profit in your first month?
But if you're sitting there thinking "Well that's wonderful, but I'm still feeling a bit lost..." - never fear, Gael and Mark are here!
Or they are via our free training seminar where the guys show you how to get started in affiliate marketing.
Take a second to type in your email address here, and we'll shoot you over an invite to 2+ hours of information, mirth, and wisdom with them.
But not in that order.
Hey, I'm Niall, a member of the Authority Hacker writing team. Formerly a full-time Game of Thrones fan, but also an aspiring indie author and old school affiliate marketer. I've been in the game so long I remember when Google was the new kid on the block. Yup, I'm a bit of a mixed bag, but it all works. somehow.